Duleep Trophy Semi-Finals: South Zone and East Zone Showcase Strong Performances

The Duleep Trophy semi-finals saw South Zone take a commanding lead against North Zone, thanks to Tilak Varma's unbeaten century and Shreyas Gopal's 87. Meanwhile, East Zone leveled scores with Central Zone, led by 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's aggressive 92. As the matches head into Day 3, both contests remain finely poised, with South Zone looking to extend their lead and East Zone aiming to capitalize on Central Zone's early struggles.

By Narendra Chaudhary Aug 31, 2026, 20:40 IST

South Zone Takes Control Against North Zone

Tilak Varma's unbeaten century, along with Shreyas Gopal's 87 runs, positioned South Zone favorably against North Zone at the conclusion of Day 2 in the Duleep Trophy semi-final held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru.

Starting their innings at 40/2, South Zone faced early setbacks but managed to recover, finishing the day at 285/9 after 94 overs. Narayan Jagadeesan, who resumed on 34, could only add two runs before being dismissed by Gurnoor Brar, leaving South Zone at 43/3.

Varma then partnered with Smaran Ravichandran, adding 37 runs before Brar struck again, dismissing both Ravichandran and Kodimela Himateja, which brought South Zone down to 80/5 in 31 overs.

In a crucial recovery, Varma and Gopal formed a significant 175-run partnership, surpassing North Zone's first-innings total of 195. Varma maintained his composure while Gopal played aggressively, scoring 87 runs off 169 balls.

The partnership ended in the 87th over when Arshdeep Singh dismissed Gopal. North Zone continued to take wickets towards the end of the day, with Anshul Kamboj dismissing Tanay Thyagarajan in the 90th over. Arshdeep then took out Vidhwath Kaverappa, while MD Nidheesh was run out, leaving South Zone at 270/9.

Varma remained not out, finishing the day with a century off 219 balls, ending on 106 runs as South Zone concluded their innings at 285/9, establishing a 90-run lead. Gurnoor Brar was the standout bowler for North Zone, taking four wickets, while Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj each claimed two.

North Zone's First Innings

Earlier, North Zone opted to bat first after winning the toss on Day 1, but they were bowled out for 195 in 59.1 overs. Qamran Iqbal was the top scorer with 76 runs, while Kanhaiya Wadhawan added 35. Vidhwath Kaverappa excelled with the ball for South Zone, taking 4 wickets for 66 runs, while MD Nidheesh and Tanay Thyagarajan each took two wickets.

As Day 3 approaches, South Zone will resume with one wicket remaining, looking to extend their lead.

East Zone Matches Central Zone's Score

In the other semi-final at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's aggressive 92 runs helped East Zone equal Central Zone's first-innings total of 266 on Day 2. At stumps, Central Zone was at 45/3 in their second innings, holding a 45-run overall lead with seven wickets in hand.

East Zone, having bowled Central Zone out for 266 on Day 1, started their innings strongly with Sooryavanshi and Abhimanyu Easwaran forming a 162-run opening partnership. Easwaran scored 69 runs off 106 balls, while Sooryavanshi took an aggressive approach against the Central Zone bowlers.

Sooryavanshi reached his half-century in just 42 balls, making him the youngest player in Duleep Trophy history to achieve this milestone. He hit seven fours and seven sixes in his 81-ball innings before being dismissed by Harsh Dubey. Dubey struck again immediately, removing Kumar Kushagra for a duck, reducing East Zone to 165/2.

Easwaran and Sudip Kumar Gharami tried to stabilize the innings with a 38-run partnership, but Aryan Pandey broke it by dismissing Easwaran. Pandey then took two more wickets in the 41st over, dismissing Gharami and Virat Singh, leading to a collapse. Yash Thakur and Dubey continued to take wickets, and East Zone was eventually bowled out for 266 in 57 overs. Dubey finished with figures of 4/66, while Pandey and Thakur each took three wickets.

Central Zone's Second Innings Struggles

With the scores tied, Central Zone began their second innings but lost three wickets before the end of Day 2. Mukesh Kumar dismissed Kunal Chandela for two runs and captain Rajat Patidar for five, while Mohammed Shami took out Aryan Juyal for eight runs, leaving Central Zone at 45/3 after 20 overs.

Central Zone's First Innings

Earlier on Day 1, Central Zone was bowled out for 266 runs. Rinku Singh was the top scorer with 60 runs off 88 balls, while Aryan Juyal contributed 46 runs. Abhijit Sarkar and Mukesh Kumar each took three wickets for East Zone.

The match remains finely balanced as Day 3 approaches, with Central Zone holding a 45-run lead, but East Zone has the chance to apply pressure early.